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Citations: (R)668.16
AsOfDate: 12/31/95

Standards of administrative capability.

To begin and to continue to participate in any Title IV,

HEA program, an institution shall demonstrate to the Secretary
that the institution is capable of adequately administering that
program under each of the standards established in this
section. The Secretary considers an institution to have that
administrative capability if the institution--

(a) Administers the Title IV, HEA programs in

accordance with all statutory provisions of or applicable to Title
IV of the HEA, all applicable regulatory provisions prescribed
under that statutory authority, and all applicable special
arrangements, agreements, and limitations entered into under
the authority of statutes applicable to Title IV of the HEA;

(b)(1) Designates a capable individual to be

responsible for administering all the Title IV, HEA programs in
which it participates and for coordinating those programs with
the institution's other Federal and non-Federal programs of
student financial assistance. The Secretary considers an
individual to be "capable" under this paragraph if the individual
is certified by the State in which the institution is located, if the
State requires certification of financial aid administrators. The
Secretary may consider other factors in determining whether an
individual is capable, including, but not limited to, the
individual's successful completion of Title IV, HEA program
training provided or approved by the Secretary, and previous
experience and documented success in administering the Title
IV, HEA programs properly;

(2) Uses an adequate number of qualified persons to

administer the Title IV, HEA programs in which the institution
participates. The Secretary considers the following factors to
determine whether an institution uses an adequate number of
qualified persons--

(i) The number and types of programs in which the

institution participates;

(ii) The number of applications evaluated;

(iii) The number of students who receive any student

financial assistance at the institution and the amount of funds
administered;

(iv) The financial aid delivery system used by the

institution;

(v) The degree of office automation used by the

institution in the administration of the Title IV, HEA programs;

(vi) The number and distribution of financial aid staff;

and

(vii) The use of third-party servicers to aid in the

administration of the Title IV, HEA programs;

(3) Communicates to the individual designated to be

responsible for administering Title IV, HEA programs, all the
information received by any institutional office that bears on a
student's eligibility for Title IV, HEA program assistance; and

(4) Has written procedures for or written information

indicating the responsibilities of the various offices with respect
to the approval, disbursement, and delivery of Title IV, HEA
program assistance and the preparation and submission of
reports to the Secretary;

(c)(1) Administers Title IV, HEA programs with

adequate checks and balances in its system of internal
controls; and

(2) Divides the functions of authorizing payments and

disbursing or delivering funds so that no office has responsibility
for both functions with respect to any particular student aided
under the programs. For example, the functions of authorizing
payments and disbursing or delivering funds must be divided so
that for any particular student aided under the programs, the
two functions are carried out by at least two organizationally
independent individuals who are not members of the same
family, as defined in 668.15, or who do not together exercise
substantial control, as defined in 668.15, over the institution;

(d) Establishes and maintains records required under

this part and the individual Title IV, HEA program regulations;

(e) For purposes of determining student eligibility for

assistance under a Title IV, HEA program, establishes,
publishes, and applies reasonable standards for measuring
whether an otherwise eligible student is maintaining satisfactory
progress in his or her educational program. The Secretary
considers an institution's standards to be reasonable if the
standards--

(1) Are the same as or stricter than the institution's

standards for a student enrolled in the same educational
program who is not receiving assistance under a Title IV, HEA
program;

(2) Include the following elements:

(i) A qualitative component which consists of grades

(provided that the standards meet or exceed the requirements
of Sec. 668.7(c)), work projects completed, or comparable
factors that are measurable against a norm.

(ii) A quantitative component that consists of a

maximum timeframe in which a student must complete his or
her educational program. The timeframe must--

(A) For an undergraduate program, be no longer than

150 percent of the published length of the educational program
measured in academic years, terms, credit hours attempted,
clock hours completed, etc. as appropriate;

(B) Be divided into increments, not to exceed the

lesser of one academic year or one-half the published length of
the educational program;

(C) Include a schedule established by the institution

designating the minimum percentage or amount of work that a
student must successfully complete at the end of each
increment to complete his or her educational program within the
maximum timeframe; and

(D) Include specific policies defining the effect of

course incompletes, withdrawals, repetitions, and noncredit
remedial courses on satisfactory progress;

(3) Provide for consistent application of standards to

all students within categories of students, e.g., full-time,
part-time, undergraduate, and graduate students, and
educational programs established by the institution;

(4) Provide for a determination at the end of each

increment by the institution as to whether the student has met
the qualitative and quantitative components of the standards
(as provided for in paragraphs (e)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section);

(5) Provide specific procedures under which a

student may appeal a determination that the student is not
making satisfactory progress; and

(6) Provide specific procedures for a student to

re-establish that he or she is maintaining satisfactory progress.

(f) Develops and applies an adequate system to

identify and resolve discrepancies in the information that the
institution receives from different sources with respect to a
student's application for financial aid under Title IV, HEA
programs. In determining whether the institution's system is
adequate, the Secretary considers whether the institution
obtains and reviews--

(1) All student aid applications, need analysis

documents, Statements of Educational Purpose, Statements of
Registration Status, and eligibility notification documents
presented by or on behalf of each applicant;

(2) Any documents, including any copies of State and

Federal income tax returns, that are normally collected by the
institution to verify information received from the student or
other sources; and

(3) Any other information normally available to the

institution regarding a student's citizenship, previous
educational experience, documentation of the student's social
security number, or other factors relating to the student's
eligibility for funds under the Title IV, HEA programs;

(g) Refers to the Office of Inspector General of the

Department of Education for investigation--

(1) After conducting the review of an application

provided for under paragraph (f) of this section, any credible
information indicating that an applicant for Title IV, HEA
program assistance may have engaged in fraud or other
criminal misconduct in connection with his or her application.
The type of information that an institution must refer is that
which is relevant to the eligibility of the applicant for Title IV,
HEA program assistance, or the amount of the assistance.
Examples of this type of information are--

(i) False claims of independent student status;

(ii) False claims of citizenship;

(iii) Use of false identities;

(iv) Forgery of signatures or certifications; and

(v) False statements of income; and

(2) Any credible information indicating that any

employee, third-party servicer, or other agent of the institution
that acts in a capacity that involves the administration of the
Title IV, HEA programs, or the receipt of funds under those
programs, may have engaged in fraud, misrepresentation,
conversion or breach of fiduciary responsibility, or other illegal
conduct involving the Title IV, HEA programs. The type of
information that an institution must refer is that which is relevant
to the eligibility and funding of the institution and its students
through the Title IV, HEA programs;

(h) Provides adequate financial aid counseling to

eligible students who apply for Title IV, HEA program
assistance. In determining whether an institution provides
adequate counseling, the Secretary considers whether its
counseling includes information regarding--

(1) The source and amount of each type of aid

offered;
(2) The method by which aid is determined and
disbursed, delivered, or applied to a student's account; and

(3) The rights and responsibilities of the student with

respect to enrollment at the institution and receipt of financial
aid. This information includes the institution's refund policy, its
standards of satisfactory progress, and other conditions that
may alter the student's aid package;

(i) Has provided all program and fiscal reports and

financial statements required for compliance with the provisions
of this part and the individual program regulations in a timely
manner;

(j) Shows no evidence of significant problems that

affect, as determined by the Secretary, the institution's ability to
administer a Title IV, HEA program and that are identified in--

(1) Reviews of the institution conducted by the

Secretary, the Department of Education's Office of Inspector
General, nationally recognized accrediting agencies, guaranty
agencies as defined in 34 CFR part 682, State postsecondary
review entities designated under 34 CFR part 667, the State
agency or official by whose authority the institution is legally
authorized to provide postsecondary education, or any other
law enforcement agency; or

(2) Any findings made in any criminal, civil, or

administrative proceeding;

(k) Is not, and does not have any principal or affiliate

of the institution (as those terms are defined in 34 CFR part 85)
that is--

(1) Debarred or suspended under Executive Order

(E.O.) 12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) or the Federal
Acquisition Regulations (FAR), 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4; or

(2) Engaging in any activity that is a cause under 34

CFR 85.305 or 85.405 for debarment or suspension under E.O.
12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) or the FAR, 48 CFR part 9,
subpart 9.4;

(1) For an institution that seeks initial participation in

a Title IV, HEA program, does not have more than 33 percent of
its undergraduate regular students withdraw from the institution
during the institution's latest completed award year. The
institution must count all regular students who are enrolled
during the latest completed award year, except those students
who, during that period--

(1) Withdrew from, dropped out of, or were expelled

from the institution; and

(2) Were entitled to and actually received in a timely

manner, a refund of 100 percent of their tuition and fees (less
any permitted administrative fee) under the institution's refund
policy;

(m)(1) Has a cohort default rate--

(i) As defined in Sec. 668.17, on loans made under

the Federal Stafford Loan and Federal SLS programs to
students for attendance at that institution of less than 25
percent for each of the three most recent fiscal years for which
the Secretary has determined the institution's rate; and

(ii) As defined in 34 CFR 674.5, on loans made under

the Federal Perkins Loan Program to students for attendance at
that institution that does not exceed 15 percent;

(2)(i) Except that, if the Secretary determines that the

institution is not administratively capable solely because the
institution fails to comply with paragraph (m)(1) of this section,
the Secretary will provisionally certify the institution in
accordance with Sec. 668.13(c); and
(ii) The institution may appeal the loss of full
participation in a Title IV, HEA program under paragraph (m)(1)
of this section by submitting an appeal in writing to the
Secretary in accordance with and on the grounds specified in
Sec. 668.17; and

(n) Does not otherwise appear to lack the ability to

administer the Title IV, HEA programs competently.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1085, 1094, 1099c; Section 4 of

Pub. L. 95-452, 92 Stat. 1101-1109; E.O. 12549 (3 CFR, 1986
Comp., p. 189), 12689 (3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235))

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under

control number 1840-0537)

Note: Redesignated from Sec. 668.14 to Sec. 668.16 and

amended April 29, 1994, effective July 1, 1994. (e) and (l)
amended November 29, 1994, effective July 1, 1995. (m)(2)(ii)
amended June 30, 1995, effective July 31, 1995. OMB control
number added August 15, 1995, effective August 15, 1995.